CONNECTOR Trainings Start with 'Intellectual Property Ownership as a Determinant Factor in Legal Competitive Assessments'

The training on intellectual property ownership as a determinant factor in legal competitive assessments was held on 04-06 July 2018 at RIU Pravets Golf & SPA Resort, Pravets. 24 national judges attended the training.

The training took a step further the idea of legitimate business practices in the domain of exclusive ownership and open innovation in intellectual property as opposed to traditional processes of encapsulating innovation within a company’s internal structure. 

This training considered the role of IP ownership as a determinant factor in legal competitive assessments. Within 3 consecutive days judges the Supreme Administrative Court, the appellate courts and the district courts, discussed the relationship between innovation and competition in dynamic markets, the economic and legal constraints arising from IP ownership, the role of licence agreements, compulsory licencing and technology transfer block exemptions, etc. The training also referred to the link between intellectual property and online markets by presenting the legal challenges of online distribution of digital content and cross-border management of intellectual property and will consider the advantages and disadvantages of open innovation for competition.

According to participants’ feedback, the strongest accents in the training were its practical approach, the timing of the event with respect to the hot topics an case studies discussed, and speakers’ expertise and experience. The quality of the training materials and the overall event organisation were also positively assessed.